“One of the hardest tasks of leadership is understanding that you are not what you are, but what you're perceived to be by others.”
Edward L. Flom
Calling the hotel service they indicate a shuttle bus will pick me up in twenty five minutes. Glancing at me watch I note the time, 1:15 am and make the calculation that I will finally get checked in to the hotel sometime close to 2:00 am. My stomach is churning from what feels like an excess of caffeine, but because my lack of consumption of caffeine, I attribute my queasiness to adrenaline. The weakness in my stomach is coupled with a low grade headache that has slowly begun to grip my shoulders. The dull constant pounding wraps over my left ear down the neck to my back. It has been about a week since I’ve had a restful night of sleep. I’m currently working on about three hours of sleep a night anticipating tomorrow’s presentation. To relieve the fatigue I raise face to the sky allowing the warm drizzle to cleanse my forehead.
Travel is filled with wasted time. Time that has no meaning or purpose, no ability to contribute, just hollow gaps in life that contain unending small eternities of personal boredom. All one can do trapped in these wasted voids is to peer out at the future, helplessly waiting for the journey to continue, waiting for the motion to begin. On the road time is elastic and discontinuous as hour disappear is a blink of an eye while other moments painfully drag in a torturous slow motion. Over the years I’ve developed the ability to shift my thoughts into neutral, a self induced trance effectively disarming my emotions. Mental adaptation to time is critical in preserving emotional sanity on the road. It’s acknowledgement that I’m not in control of the circumstances, a freeing of the confirmed spirit allowing frustration, anger, stress and ire to dissipate into thin air. I focus on the warm raindrops striking my face recalling childhood memories of walking in a late afternoon summer rain. Then as if by magic, as if summoned from a dark void within me, the hotel shuttle rounds the empty sullen street and pulls up next to me opening the door with a rusty squeak.
Secure in an emotionless trance I silently sit without speaking to the shuttle driver as the bus turns and twists bumpy dark streets of an ugly wasteland of rusty metal industrial buildings scattered randomly in open expanses of asphalt tarmac decorated by chain link fences topped with ribbons of gleaming razor wire. Off in the distance is a small darken form of a palm tree. It is the only clue that I’m in semitropical Miami. Emerging from an endless series of grey concrete ramps and overpasses a colorful glow appears on the horizon. Hues of purple and red neon light the night sky which could be mistaken for just another strip club that sits like an enticing oasis in the post nuclear environment surrounding most airports. Heading toward the glow in the sky the name of the hotel reveals itself through a low hanging mist. I dismiss the oddity that my ten story hotel is covered in neon like a strip club because its Miami, everything in Miami is covered in neon even the palm trees.
Traveling to Miami is as close to an international destination as anywhere in North America. The city gyrates to its own pulse as the gateway to South America and the Caribbean. Tomorrow’s presentation is to a large multinational corporation which employs more nationalities then the United Nations. Our evening’s reservation is with a French hotel chain housed in a tastefully renovated 1930 Art Deco building. The lobby is sleek and eclectic with white washed walls spotted with black and white vintage art photography. The staff is Moroccan, French and Cuban which add to the exotic charm.
The room is ample and modern with a large window which is illuminated with the soft pastels of the neon that trim the structure. I always have difficulty immediately falling asleep at night and require an hour or two to relax regardless of the time. My insomnia is more acute as I script tomorrow’s presentation over and over in my mind. Pulling aside the sheer curtains the window peers over a large pool deck which is also outlined in neon casting a surrealistic cartoon glow to the landscape. I pick up my camera and snap a few photos from the window before noticing a security guard staring at me from six stories below. Feeling self conscience I put the camera down and turn on the laptop to add the finals touches to the pitch. Finally, exhausted from the long day I pick up the phone at 3:45 am to request a 6:00 am wake-up call.
Miami Night. Photo by Mr. BlueThe interview team of four meets in the hotel restaurant for breakfast at 7:00 am. The white linen dining room is pure French tropical with exquisite rich black coffee served in glass Turkish presses. The food is above average due to the French cuisine as the interview team goes over the script and agenda in unrelenting detail. We then turn our attention to project schedule and costs which is a massive logistic undertaking as the papers cover the small table. We conclude breakfast with intensely grilling each other trying to identify all the questions we might be required to field during the presentation.
Preparations are over and its time to hale a cab to the headquarters. The cab driver laughs as we give him the address which is all of one block from the hotel. He is congenial as we inform him that he will have a hard time making his fortune my picking up deadbeats like us all the time. As we pile out of the cab into the sultry warm air the headquarters building is another nondescript blue glass box sitting on another nondescript business park road that is designed to punish anyone wanting to walk to another destination. Landscaping is used in a feeble attempt to cloak the hideous two story cheap concrete parking structures and acres of molten black asphalt as we walk toward the door. Miami is more fortunate than more with its ability to support lush highly manicured collections of exotic plants from around the world, which left unattended by the legions of migrant labor, would perish before your eyes.
Passing through an uninspired lobby, we are greeted by the receptionist who directs us to the conference room we are scheduled to present in. She points out the audio-visual equipment, turns and leaves us alone to set up. The conference room is well appointed with the newest of business teleconferencing equipment revealing the company’s broad international reach. Most interesting is the piles of discarded presentation props, sample boards, posters, models which indicates we have reached the inner lair of the real decision makers. We are in the inner sanctum of the power elite where the future is forged. It is like we are surrounded by the bones and remains of the hopeful that have preceded us. Some of the remains are quite elaborate and creative, while others are crude and rudimentary. I wonder if the previous presenter fled leaving the debris or was it abandon after the approach was ripped apart. Confirming that our equipment works without problems, we sit down and wait their arrival.
Quietly I lower my head and close my eyes to focus internal energy painting positive mental images in my mind. Years ago this important of a presentation would rattle nerves and make me unsure that I was fully prepared to lead the presentation. Today is different because I’m completely in control of the concept, approach and rationale. I created a solution that did not exist before and one that the company will realize they can’t live without. I carefully picked the supporting members of the team and crafted the story they will tell. I’ve detailed the schedule to a level that exceeds the client’s understanding of their own project. The presentation is the culmination of months of inventive thinking and we are completely prepared. It is important when dealing with investments of millions of dollars of other people’s money that you exude leadership, strength and decisiveness.
The door opens and five executives dressed in business casual walk in and introduce themselves. Our primary contact for the project has been Rebecca, who is a young attractive professional formally from the pharmaceutical industry. She introduces the other project executives, the vice president of international operations, the facilities director, the operations director and the vice president of new product development. I am immediately impressed with the intelligence of the group as they conclude some business small talk. Smiling to myself I realize we have been placed in front of the cream of the organization and they have come to challenge our ideas. It is moments like theses that I live for, an assembly of powerful, smart, passionate professionals that don’t want to waste time and have come to make the future happen. It is all about vision and possibility with a group like this.
Rebecca informs me that we half 45 minutes and notes that two of the executives will need to leave at that time for other appointments as she turns the floor over to me. I begin by thanking everyone from taking time from their busy schedule and start in discussing the origins of our team. Everyone loves a story that conveys the reason that we come to this point in time with the people present. I use the story to build the relationship between the team members that have evolved over years and even decades. It’s a way to weave in humor, professionalism, expertise, commitment, passion and vision. The conclusion of the story is the reason we are before the group, creating a circular reference back to the present.
Body language is one of the most revealing gestures during an interview. If properly recognized and interpreted body language is an unfair advantage to the presenter exposing the true emotions of the listener. I am able to discern the social order of the group just by how they glance at each other during questions. The subtle gestures convey interest, confusion, disbelief or intrigue. This group is fully engaged with the two lesser executives deferring to the senior executives though subtle unspoken gestures. I turn my attention to the decision makers while still maintaining contact with the others. One must be careful not to slight or ignore anyone at the table for they can become the individuals that could force a hung jury into indecision.
The presentation shifts dramatically as the executives begin to understand the magnitude of the project complexity. The naïve assumptions that preceded this project direction are exposed and the group collectively is overwhelmed by the logistics of implementing the project within the compressed schedule. The questions begin to fly madly at us like bats bolting out of a cave at night. Deftly I field the hardballs and direct them to the appropriate team member who has been scripted on the correct answer. I allow the presentation to be temporarily sidetracked because the questions drive toward each individual’s hidden agenda. The group is extremely intelligent and is able to make the complex connections that we have prepared for much later in the presentation. I attempt table the discussion until the proper section in the presentation and am able to proceed somewhat further down the presentation before the next series of questions erupt.
Many years of experience and hundreds of presentations allows me to steer a fine line between open debate and uncontrollable chaos. Once again I curtail the discussion forcing us back on the scripted presentation because we have systematically anticipated their questions and concerns. Time is beginning to become a concern as we approach the time where two executives will leave and we risk not finishing with our conclusions. As our scientist is bogging down on technical information I advance the slides to push him along while politely acknowledging that we have worked together so long that I know where to push. It gets a laugh from the mostly serious crowd. At one point I begin to fear that the discussion is getting out of hand and the group is about to make important decisions without the benefit of all the facts. I forcefully curtail the discussion and more back to our presentation.
To my amazement the time for the two executives to leave comes and goes. They are so fully engrossed in the discussion that they intentionally delay their departure. This is the most positive signal possible in a presentation like this. We have risen to a level of priority that now supersedes their previous commitments. We have completely captured the decision makers so that all other duties are secondary for the moment. We are playing with dynamite by suggesting the incredible complexity of the project and the daunting magnitude to the logistics, but confidently assuring the group we are the only team capable of delivering the project without question. At one point the discussion taking an ominous turn as someone suggests the project is not feasible and should be abandoned. Alarmed I quickly rescue the discussion by offering that the technical issues are not insurmountable, but will require additional investigation. It is the true academic conclusion to all reports “further research is required”.
Rebecca concludes the presentation with one question “Why should we hire the team?” I openly laugh at the question because it is the most elemental question of all interviews and somehow, I overlooked preparing for that question. In my mind the omission in our preparation is so oblivious that my own body language is revealing how tickled I am with the penetrating simple question that I have no answer for. It is a moment of ironic pleasure as I am completely stumped and admit to the group that we were so immersed in solving their problem, failed to prepare for that fundamental question. As an attribute of the quality team I assembled, one of them answers the question with stunning relevance and brilliance leaving me cackling in the corner.
The presentation concludes with warm handshakes and congratulations on how exceptional our preparation was. I glance at my watch and note that we held the two executives almost 40 minutes past their previous appointments. Rebecca asks for copies of the presentation which we have prepared for and hand her a CD containing all the information presented. The team assembles the equipment and says goodbye to the group. Once again we walk out into the warm humid air of south Florida to wait for a decision from the group. We silently smile at each other knowing the pitch went well as the sun caresses our faces. This is what we do I think to myself. The future is uncertain and we may not know for weeks if we were selected or if another team controlled the process better than us. In time we will hear the decision of the executives concerning their investment of millions of dollars. Until then I will fondly recall the pitch where I was unprepared to answer the most elemental question of all, “Why should we hire you?”
“In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative original thinker unless you can also sell what you create. Management cannot be expected to recognize a good idea unless it is presented to them by a good salesman.”
David M. Ogilvy
